My book, The Magic of Momentum is available in paperback! Click here to buy it.
The hardest part about writing books comes afterwards, when you have to figure out how to present them to the masses. This is especially difficult for me, as I never pick topics for SEO or popularity.
And that brings us to momentum. Nobody writes about momentum. Nobody searches for it, either. I looked, and there were only a handful of books about it, none of them popular. My momentum book might be the only one on the topic, but it’s the best one!
Despite that, I found the concept of momentum fascinating and bursting with potential, in large part due to my experiences with it.
I’ll never forget the day (Dec 28, 2012) that I turned one push-up into a full workout (that I couldn’t do previously). That was 100% momentum, not habit. In fact, my habit at that time was to not succeed in that situation. Momentum proved stronger than my habit!
I’ve also noticed how easy it is to accept that “this is a bad day” or “this is a good day.” That’s momentum, too, and it tends to make small things into much bigger, weightier things.
A Difficult Year Proved Useful
The questions I had writing this book:
- How possible is it to manipulate our momentum?
- Is it a skill that can be improved with understanding and strategy?
(Un)lucky for me, I mentioned in a prior newsletter that I’ve had one of the most difficult years of my life. A breakup, family health problems, big investment losses, plagiarism, you name it. It’s all happened recently. So I’ve had fertile testing grounds for these questions. And, well…
I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been. Weird.
I’d guess I’m at least twice as resilient as I was even last year as a result of writing this book. I’ve had that feeling of being gutted—like someone ripped out your soul and stomped on it—multiple times in the last few months. But I practice what I preach, and each time that has happened, I’ve responded by intentionally building positive momentum. Every time so far, it has moved me through the storm to the other side.
It’s strange, because resilience isn’t the kind of benefit you’d expect from learning about momentum. Momentum seems to be about success and building winning streaks (and it is). We tend to think that overcoming life’s gut punches and striving for success are separate processes, right? You overcome the gut punch so that you can begin your journey into success. I don’t think so anymore. I’ve learned that they are actually a part of the same process.
Life isn’t ever going to be a deal in which we gain a little bit of momentum and then never have problems again. Life will challenge us the whole way through.
Once you overcome the 3rd or 4th gut punch of the year, and still prove that you can move forward in that condition, it starts to feel like a superpower. It’s like a boxer taking his opponent’s biggest punch, falling down, and getting right back up. At that point, he’s not just resilient, he’s confident he can win, too.
And this is a great example of how momentum works. After getting knocked down, the mere act of quickly standing up devastates your opponent. Just standing up! And why? Because that was his best shot, and it didn’t work. It’s a powerful reversal of momentum to go from completely defeated back to standing on your feet. Think about this in terms of the adversity you face in your life.
What Does Resilience Require and Look Like?
I’ve never really connected with ideas of resilience that originate from “inner will.” That just seems like cheap sentiment. “Suck it up, stop being a baby, you’re tough, etc.” That approach seems to require either callousness or emotional denial, neither of which are healthy or sustainable.
When life hits you hard, the negative emotions can be overwhelming. And ideas like “suck it up” insult you for being human instead of supporting you. They treat you like you’re an impenetrable fortress at your weakest moment.
Let’s not forget, we as humans are fragile. We can die instantly from a relatively short fall if our head hits a hard surface. And it does us no good to deny that fragility, does it? For example, we’re much more likely to survive if we wear helmets when prudent.
In the same way, it does us no good to pretend as if we can’t get hurt emotionally, deeply. It does us no good to pretend that we never doubt ourselves or fear that we won’t live up to our hopes and dreams because of setbacks. What we can do is acknowledge our fragility—physical, emotional, and otherwise—but not end it there.
I may be fragile, and I’m capable of being hurt, but I will not be defeated, and certainly not without a fight. I will claw and scratch for every inch of progress regardless of what happens or how I feel about what happens.
This sentiment is part of what you will gain from this book. I’ve experienced how powerful momentum is when my emotional state is devastated. It’s simply a matter of understanding how behavioral momentum works, and acting on that knowledge. The results take care of themselves.
Beyond resilience, there’s massive upside. Sustained positive momentum—resting on the foundation of resilience—can completely transform your life.
Momentum in physics is defined by one thing: How much force will it take to stop this thing from moving in its current direction? How difficult is it to stop?
A better understanding and desire for momentum over traditional goal- and result-chasing can make you into a juggernaut, an unstoppable force. Not an invincible or emotionless force incapable of being hurt or slowed down, but a vulnerable, fragile, fierce force that can not and will not be stopped until your final breath.
That’s the magic of momentum.
The Magic of Momentum is an inexpensive book that will give you an incredible return. And it’s finally available in both ebook and paperback.
Are you ready to get started?
Buy the EBOOK on Amazon | Apple | Google | KOBO | B&N
Cheers,
Stephen Guise
